On Fatherhood
by SingularityStar
Summary: Great fathers aren't born, they're made. Harry receives some fatherly advice from Arthur.
1. On Fatherhood

Harry didn't even flinch as a heavy hand settled upon his shoulder. Instead, he continued staring blankly at his drink. "Please don't hit me, we're in public," he muttered under his breath before lifting the glass and gulping down the remainder.

"Well, I haven't ruled it out, but I figured we'd start by talking."

Harry nearly choked on his drink as he spun around on the barstool "M-Mr. Weasley? W-what are you doing here? Wait, don't answer that…I know why you're here."

"And yet you seem so surprised to see me," Arthur replied, a slightly forced smile on his face.

"To be honest, I was expecting Ron…" _or possibly George…or Bill…or some combination of Ginny's brothers…_

"Yes, well, I won't pretend Ron didn't want to come…and he might've hit you."

"Yeah, well, I won't pretend I don't deserve it."

"But luckily," Arthur continued as if Harry hadn't spoken, "I happened to be visiting Ron and Hermione when Ginny floo'd, near hysterics, looking for her husband, who left at some point this afternoon, and still hadn't returned, despite it being several hours past dinner time."

Harry grimaced and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, but Arthur merely motioned to the bartender to get his attention. "Firewhiskey, please," he said brightly.

The barman raised an eyebrow. "It's a brand name," Harry said quickly raising his head. "They don't seem to have it many places. Just get us two shots of your strongest whiskey."

He nodded to Harry, but shot a suspicious look to Arthur before turning his back on the pair to get the drinks.

"Muggle pub…right…should've remembered that…" Arthur mumbled quietly, looking around with great interest. Harry didn't respond. When the barman returned with their drinks, Arthur picked them up and headed towards a booth in an out of the way corner. Harry got to his feet heavily and threw some Muggle money on the bar with a muttered "Thanks," before following.

He slid onto the bench across from his father-in-law, but kept his eyes down, not meeting the eyes of the other man. "So, Ron told you about this place." It wasn't a question. Ron was the only one who knew that Harry sometimes took refuge in this pub. It was a dark and dingy little place with very few patrons. Harry had discovered it shortly after the war ended, when it was nearly impossible for him to go anywhere without being hounded by reporters for interviews or mobbed by flocks of admirers. It was the ideal place to get away, to be anonymous for awhile. A place he could go to escape the pressure of being 'Harry Potter'.

"Well, not at first. It took a little convincing, but he was pretty irate." Harry nodded glumly at these words, but he wasn't surprised. "Why don't you tell me what happened."

They were both silent for several moments, but Harry finally sighed. "I-I don't know. I just…" he trailed off. Arthur slid one of the glasses across the table to him. Harry downed it quickly with hardly a grimace and began his story again. "James just doesn't stop crying. It doesn't matter what we do, he just doesn't stop. Sometimes for hours at a time he just cries and cries and cries. We called the healer. She told us there is nothing wrong with him, but he just keeps crying. There's nothing we can do about it. And when he cries, Ginny starts to cry, and there's nothing I can do for either of them.

"We had finally gotten him down for his nap this afternoon, and Ginny just looked so exhausted, so I told her to get some rest too. I meant to just go out back to that little copse of trees to do a bit of flying, to clear my head, but somehow I ended up here. I kept telling myself, 'Just five more minutes. Five more minutes, then you've got to get back,' but I can't do it. I just keep sitting here." With a quick gesture of his wand under the table, Harry refilled his own glass and downed it again, just as quickly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley. I thought I could do this, but I just can't," Harry continued. "I don't know the first thing about being a father! Uncle Vernon's the only example I ever had, and he just taught me what not to do. I've never even seen what a good father looks like!"

After a beat, he looked up, eyes wide. "I-I didn't mean that. You're a great father, of course, it's just…I…" he trailed off, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Arthur waved his comment aside, and looked him straight in the eye. "I know you had a significant lack of father figures early in your life, Harry, but that's no excuse for what you're doing now." Harry ducked his head in embarrassment. He had never heard that stern, fierce tone in Mr. Weasley's voice before, and it scared him a bit.

"I always thought you were either extremely brave or extremely stupid to marry a woman with so many older brothers. Everything I know about you and your character always pointed toward brave. But this," he gestured around the bar, "walking out on Ginny tonight, abandoning your wife when she needs you, well, that definitely adds a few points to the 'stupid' column."

Harry stared into his empty glass, "I know, I'm sorry."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to." Harry nodded, but didn't look up.

"Look Harry," Arthur sighed, continuing in a bit softer tone, "I didn't here as Ginny's angry father to issue threats. Let's face it, I'm no match for you anyway. I'm here because, well, I remember how hard it was for me when Bill was first born. It took him ages to learn to sleep through the night. For the longest time, he would wake up every two hours, like clockwork. Molly was at her wit's end and almost constantly in tears and I felt completely hopeless. The urge to run away was nearly overwhelming. So I floo'd my dad, and you know what he told me, Harry?"

Harry just shook his head mutely.

"He said, 'Great fathers aren't born, Arthur, they're made. They're made by sticking around through the tough times and always being there, no matter what.' You never struck me as the type of person who ran away from difficulty, Harry. In fact, more often than not, you ran straight toward it."

Harry shook his head, "This is different…I-"

"Damn right this is different. This is much easier. This is your _son_, Harry. And you're not alone in this. You've got Ginny, and Ron, and Hermione, and Molly, and myself and scores of other people. We'll help you, Harry, you just need to ask."

"It just…it feel like I'm failing them. It seems like asking for help is admitting defeat."

"There's no shame in leaning on your family, Harry. That's what we're here for." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I know I'm not your father, but I want you to know that I thought of you as my son long before you married my daughter. I care about you, Harry, and I'm here for you if you need me."

Harry's head jerked up in surprise. "I—uh, erm…thanks, Mr. Weasley. I appreciate that, really. And I appreciate you sharing that advice from your father. He sounds like he was a very wise man."

Arthur chucked loudly, "Well, actually, that night I floo'd him, he burst into laughter and told me that it served me right since I was such an obnoxious child, but that didn't really help me any and I didn't figure it would be a great help to you either."

Harry cracked the closest thing to a smile he had all night.

Arthur climbed to his feet, leaving his untouched drink on the table. "You're a good man, Harry. Go home."

"I'd never really leave her, you know," Harry said quietly before Arthur was out of earshot. "Or him. I couldn't. I know what it's like to grow up without a father, without the people who love you most in the world beside you. I'd never do that to either of them."

"I do know. If you didn't want us to find you, you wouldn't have come here," Arthur said, turning around and patting Harry's shoulder briefly.

"Oh, and son, if you ever do something like this again, I'll let Ron come after you. But not before I floo Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George. 'Chosen One' or not, I don't think you'd stand a chance against the combined tempers of five Weasley sons." He patted Harry's shoulder once more, a bit harder than was necessary and, ignoring the stricken look on the other man's face, strolled nonchalantly across the pub, whistling merrily.


	2. On Family

It was pitch black when Harry Apparated back to the home he shared with Ginny and his son. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand to the door handle and hesitated. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to say?" he mumbled, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He stepped back from the doorway and began to pace back and forth, snippets of possible scenarios running through his head. He stepped back to the door several times, only to hesitate at the last moment, cram his hands back into his pockets and resume his pacing.

As he took a deep breath and reached for the door handle for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, the door opened and Hermione stepped out. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and she was glaring daggers at him. "You should probably go inside," she said coldly. "Pacing out here isn't doing you any favours."

"She knows I'm here?"

Hermione nodded.

"Bollocks…" Harry ruffled his hair once more.

"You're an idiot, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Good. I'd open with that." Her voice remained cold, so Harry was surprised when she uncrossed her arms and hugged him quickly. "I'm glad you're back." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and Disapparated with a slight 'pop'.

He was caught off guard by her sudden change of demeanor and stood in place for a moment feeling like he would never understand women in the slightest. He quickly remembered that Ginny was inside waiting for him, probably growing more and more irritated with each passing second, so, with a deep breath, Harry finally pushed open the door and stepped inside. Resisting the urge to cast a shield charm he called out softly, "Ginny?" He could see light glowing faintly down the hall and heard the clatter of dishes. Bracing himself, he made his way towards the kitchen. Ginny stood at the sink with her back to him, washing dishes in a rather aggressive manner.

He cleared his throat softly. "Er, Ginny, love? I'm home…"

She turned sharply to face him , wand clutched tightly in her hand and fury burning in her eyes. "Oh, how nice of you to join us. I'm sorry, but you're just a bit late for dinner." Sarcasm dripped heavily from her words.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I was being an idiot. I just…I just needed to get away for a bit…"

"Oh, well, that's ok then. All's forgiven. You abandon your family, but its fine because you 'just needed to get away for a bit.' You stupid, sodding, prick!"

Harry ducked out the doorway, narrowly missing the curse she fired his way. _Bat Bogey Hex_, Harry grimaced. _She always goes back to the basics when she's really upset._

Harry cast a shield charm before inching his way into the kitchen again. "Careful, you'll wake James."

Ginny laughed high and derisively, wand still aimed directly at Harry's face. "Oh, so _now_ you care about your son?"

"I've always cared about him, Ginny," Harry replied, rather defensively. "You and James are the most important people in my life, you know that. The two of you are more important than anything!"

"Well, you sure have a brilliant way of showing it." She crossed her arms again, her wand no longer aimed in his direction. Harry decided to take this as a good sign, despite the fact that her grip on it hadn't slackened in the slightest. .

"Please, Gin," he pleaded, releasing his shield charm and taking a hesitant step towards her, "you know I would never really leave you. I couldn't do that to either of you. I know it was stupid. I just went for a walk and…"

"And what? Forgot your way home? Got kidnapped by Death Eaters? Ran into an ambush and were killed? What?"

Her arms remained clenched, but Harry could see the tears brimming in her eyes, and suddenly he understood Hermione's quick mood change. Making a mental note to apologize to her later, he stepped forward and took Ginny in his arms, grateful that she didn't try to push him away. "Ginny, I'm sorry that I made you worry, but I'm right here now, ok?"

Now she did push him away, "No, it's not ok. What was I supposed to think, Harry? I wake up and you're just gone, and you don't come back for hours. You can say you would never leave, but you left today. Nothing you say can change that."

"Gin—"

"No," she held up her hand to stop him from speaking, "I sat here all afternoon, waiting for you to come back, telling myself that you just stepped out and that I was over reacting. When you weren't back by dinner I floo'd everyone I could think of, but no one knew where you were. Now I find out that you just needed some time away, away from your own son, from me?" A few tears escaped her eyes and she brushed them away harshly.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I know that doesn't fix it, but I just…I got scared, Gin. I don't know how to be a parent."

"And I do? Harry, this is as new for me as it is for you. I'm scared too."

Harry was quiet for a moment. He took a step backwards and leaned against the wall, shoulders slumped. "I just…I felt like I was letting you both down. He was crying, you were crying, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"You could've talked to me, Harry. We're in this together, and that's the only way we'll ever make it. And the only way you will ever let me down is by leaving. I need you beside me. I can't do this on my own."

"You won't have to," Harry responded, swallowing around a lump in his throat and wrapping her in his arms. "Not ever."

"You can't promise that," she murmured into his shoulder. "What if something really does happen to you? There are still people out there who want you dead, Harry."

He held her in his arms for several moments. He didn't have a response. She was right. He took precautions, he tried to be careful, but he was in a dangerous line of work, even more so because of who he was.

"Would it help if I promised that if anything happened to me, I'd come back as a ghost?"

Ginny pushed away, looking horrified.

"Well, at least then, I could still help with some of the yelling, although, I must admit you're much better at that than I am."

Ginny swatted him lightly on the shoulder and rolled her eyes, but Harry was glad to see that she smiled slightly as well.

"You're terrible, Harry Potter."

"But you still love me, Ginny Potter."

"God knows why," Ginny replied, but she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Harry smirked at her, but became serious again almost at once. "I really am sorry, Ginny. I love you, and I never meant to make you worry. I didn't think…"

"Obviously," she sighed. "I know, Harry, and I forgive you, but you need to know that if you ever pull something like this again, James and I won't be here when you get back."

He looked her directly in the eye. "Understood."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, James has about forty minutes until he's due to wake up again. I'd suggest you take me upstairs and show me _exactly _how sorry you are. After which, I plan on having a lovely night of uninterrupted sleep as you spend some good quality time with your son.

Harry smiled at her, and grasped her hand, allowing her to lead him out of the room. He felt amazed that he had gotten off so lightly.

"Tomorrow, you can go talk to Ron."

Or maybe not…


End file.
